Qatar, Fifa, and LGBTQ+
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/gender-transsexual-communication-6188940/
The 2022 Fifa World Cup was incredible. From underdog stories to a sensational final, on the surface, the world cup should have been an undeniable success., Yet, the 2022 Fifa World Cup was plagued with controversy from the very beginning. After Qatar was chosen to host the World Cup, several issues, such as corruption and bribery in government organizations and exploitation of migrant workers, arose. These issues challenged Qatar’s legitimacy and Fifa’s integrity. One of the most controversial issues was the ban on openly supporting the LGBTQ+ community within Qatar, especially on the soccer pitch.
Qatar is a small country on the West Coast of the Persian Gulf, existing within the Arabian Peninsula. It shares borders with Saudi Arabia and is an Arab state with a constitutional emirate. It also became the first Middle-Eastern country to host the Fifa World cup. In a highly controversial decision on December 2, 2010, Qatar received the right to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. It was later alleged that Qatar had bribed certain members of the Fifa executive to influence their vote.
Before the starting of the world cup, questions regarding Qatar, specifically their legislation regarding certain social and legal issues, raised concerns. The first article of the Qatari constitution states that, “Qatar is an independent sovereign Arab State. Its religion is Islam and Shari'a law shall be a main source of its legislations. Its political system is democratic. The Arabic Language shall be its official language. The people of Qatar are a part of the Arab nation.”
In line with Shari’a law, the religious laws of Islam, Qatar considers certain actions - like drinking alcohol or practicing activities characterized by the LGBTQ+ community - forbidden by Islamic Law (haram). Therefore, it is illegal to participate in LGBTQ+ activities within Qatar. While criminalizing LGBTQ+ practices in and of itself is greatly controversial, a secondary issue arises with the dual tract of the Qatar legal system. As explained by Hamzeh, Qatar relies on both Shari’a courts and Adlia courts. Shari’a courts in Qatar judge based on Shari’a law and the specific interpretation of Wahhabism, which “rejects individual reasoning or interpretation as a source of Shari’a law.” On the other hand, Adlia courts emulate British civil law courts and adhere to similar processes. While no documented evidence of such an occurrence has been identified, under the jurisdiction of Shari’a law, it would technically be legal to sentence an individual for participating in certain LGBTQ+ activities to stoning. Additionally, section 296 of the penal code explicitly states that homosexual activities are forbidden and punishable by law under the jurisdiction of Adlia courts.
In November, FIFA announced that captains were not allowed to wear “ONE LOVE” armbands, showing support for LGBTQ+ communities. Some teams, however, planned nonetheless to wear the armband but had to abandon it. This is because, rather than possibly fining teams who violated the rules, players themselves would receive sanctions by receiving yellow/red cards. Political activists and other individuals had already condemned FIFA for hosting a world cup in a country responsible for various human rights violations; however, the ban on armbands was the final straw. The media and individuals alike condemned FIFA for their decision, some even advocating for boycotting the World Cup, generating a heated worldwide debate. In general, FIFA was accused of supporting human rights violations and blatantly ignoring members of its international community who were a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The harsh criticisms invoked a response from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino’s opening speech attained international fame and became the face of many headlines with the statement, “today I feel gay.” In his speech, Infantino approached the problem from a different perspective, a perspective which, according to AP NEWS, was shared by the Qatari government. He addressed the hypocrisy of the West. Beginning by remarking on the discrepancy between the number of journalists in his opening speech in contrast to his prior speech about fans with disabilities, Infantino argued that the basis of Western criticism was hypocrisy, not a virtue. He highlighted the hypocrisy in regards to Europe turning a blind eye to the migrant worker issues predominant in Europe and also their very recent past of the same issues. Infantino’s speech focused on the difference in social development and how some changes take time, as evident in European history. He argued that Western critics should focus on the continuous improvements Qatar was making rather than tearing Qatar down and realize that changes take time. He also expressed Fifa’s position saying everyone was welcome to attend the world cup.
Besides Infantino’s speech, the Western response was critiqued as ignoring tradition and culture, trying to impose Western values, and presenting an argument based on hypocrisy and discrimination. Critics also brought up Russia, which hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup and its human rights violations. Furthermore, the critics warned that if nations must uphold certain social values to host the world cup, only a small number of western countries could host the world cup.
While the responses of the two sides are fair and correct, they nonetheless fail to address the primary issue of human rights violations. LGBTQ+ rights have been generally accepted as human rights, and as such, refusing this right is arguably a human rights violation. However, justified or debated, the point is that human rights are being violated in Qatar, and the fact that Fifa did not show any form of support or raise awareness as an organization is irrelevant to any justification they may provide. Fifa failed to assist marginalized individuals in Qatar suffering from human rights violations, and fans within the LGBTQ+ community who shared genuine fears and concerns about cheering on their country in person were ignored. While this does not justify the west’s response and growth must occur regarding it, Fifa supported a human rights violation, and it failed.